trip to sequim

[Elliot Baum]

I went up on friday afternoon and met up with chris. We headed over to the gym around five, Jesse was still training a client when we got there so we hung out for a bit then began warming up. We trained olympic lifts, focusing on technique. We did snatch pulls, full snatches, and power snatches. We then moved on to power cleans and full cleans. We then moved on to jerks out of the rack. This went very well and I went for a max. I hit a 145kg split jerk, and missed 150kg three times. Chris and I headed back to his place for the night. Saturday morning we got up around nine and headed to the gym about ten. This was an awsome training session for me and I got to try out a yoke for the first time which was awsome. We did farmers walks, tire flips, yoke, stones, deadlifts, and glute hams. The farmers didnt go as well as I'd hoped, the handles felt much heavier than they were, long story short I didnt do too hot on these. The tire flip was great, I tried to focus of form and speed, I was really trying to get the explosion at the bottom like I do in a snatch. The yoke was awsome, this was my first time using one and I hit 630 for maybe 25ish feet, someone else will have to verify the distance. I really liked the feel of a yoke, it really taught me to stay tight keep my feet moving. We finished our workout around one and everybody went to eat. This was cool we went to a barbeque place that served meat by the pound, and it was great meat. Headed to the community center for a while to hit the hot tub, steam room, and the water slide. Tim and Sarge goin on the slide was a sight to remember. Saturday evening everybody went over to Jesse's to watch the fight. All in all in was a great trip, the hospitality of these guys is amazing. I learned, trained, and ate a whole lot. I verythankful to have the experience of going up to sequim to train and I hope I'm able to do it again in the future sometime. Thanks to everyone in sequim.

[Chris Lee]

what elliot failed to mention was that when we went to Jeremiah's bbq, he ate two pounds of meat, and 2 side dishes. his first pound of meat was gone before i even got mine, and i was next in line to order. on top of that, elliot didnt give himself enough credit, he had the 150 jerk, but was just surprised by how low he re-dipped to lock it out, and bailed it. remember, this was after well over an hour of pure olympic lifting too, so you know he couldnt have been as explosive as he is fresh. on top of that, his 630 yoke run, was just that, a run. it wouldve been for a lot further too, but we're training indoors right now, and the garage only allowed for about 30 feet. we used new handles for our farmers and they were tough. they were 150 empty, but felt closer to 200. anyways elliot, you know we love you up here in sequim, and youre always welcome, come back anytime. my house is always open to you, even if im away at school. if i dont get to see you again during the year, we'll meet up for some shows over the summer for sure.

[Joshua Davis]

The wife has ok'ed me for a plane ticket sometime this year, now I just have to come up with the invite from Jesse... :M:

Of course, I may be going up there to home/job scout as well.

Living 3200 miles away can be a beast. Especially when you really want to live somewhere else.

[JEFF VANCO]

Cool post Elliot!!

[Jesse Marunde]

well I just typed a huge message and accidently deleted it... gotta take the kid to school. I'll write it AGAIN later on,,, man that makes me so angry when that happens!!!!!

[Jesse Marunde]

Let me start by stating honestly that Elliot is hands down the most talented strength athlete that has ever visited the Sequim Crew. The fact that he is still in highschool only makes his ability all the more impressive. Also, Elliot is ranked 14th in the state in wrestling in the HW class weighing only 231. I remember very clearly how difficult and impossible it was to lift hard during the wrestling season. Elliot trains hard 5 days per week before school. That's as hard core as it gets in my book. He reminds me alot of Kevin Nee when Kev was 17. Elliot's potential is unbelievable. I beleive he will compete in WSM within 5 years, possible sooner. FYI: Elliot was 3rd in the teen nationals last year missing 1st place due to a single mistake.

Elliot is one of the fastest olympic lifters I have ever seen. His form is somewhat rugged mostly because he barely shrugs or finishes the 2nd pull. But he is so lightning fast getting under the bar and standing up that I didn't bother correcting him. Elliot drove 3.5 hours to get to my gym and was fired up to train. After a full hour of fast paced snatching, power snatching, drop snatching, hang power and squat snatching, and snatch high pulls Elliot did some power cleans. Then he smoked a 145kg split jerk. He missed 150kg only because he wasn't used to having that much weight over his head. His leg drive and foot speed is sufficiant for a 165-175 jerk right now. Elliot has back squatted 500 with just a belt. Chris, who is home from college, trained with Elliot even though it was his much needed rest day after a full week of sick Sequim Crew style training. That's hard core...

The next morning Elliot showed us his true grit. He got after it in a serious way. I'm talking blood and guts die hard sweating. I know he was working hard, but he showed no pain. His 630 yoke walk was only limited in distance because of our indoor facility. I had the boys doing 3 squats with the yoke and taking off fast on the 3rd squat. We call this 'yoke start practice'. Elliot dominates the yoke.

After reading Elliots post I have to comment that he is being extremely humble. it was really motivational for Chris and Kory to see Elliot in action.

Thanks for coming out bro. You are invited back at any time. Next time you come out I'll pay your gas and buy your BBQ.

[Guillaume Dupuis]

After reading Elliot's post and Jesse's response, I think we have a winner here :) You seem to have the right mental attitude to go far Elliot, keep it up.

[AaRoNSnider]

Good job Elliot.Stay focussed and keep working hard

[Kurt Hessenbruch]

Jesse's commentary on you, Elliot, is not surprising to me. I don't know much about you beyond a couple video's that you've posted, but from that little bit of footage, I had already garnered that you're a great athlete.

There are a lot of strong guys and plenty of people that excel at their sport, but there's just something else about certain people that indicates they would do well at whatever athletic endeavor they chose. I think it must be the combination of raw strength and fluidity of movement. It's quite clear when something comes naturally to an individual.

I think back to when I was your age and wish that I had known then what I do now with regards to training and nutrition. You have a great foundation and I'm sure you'll be a freak in no time. Good luck.

[Jonathan Macfarlane]

Awesome stuff Elliot. Nearly getting a 150kg jerk at that age and weight is insane doing the things you do on the side. I don't doubt you have the speed for a 350lb+ jerk after seeing your tire flip vid from teen nats. Best of luck.